The Passage

Here, in the Passage, the Lewises and their visitors entered the house.

After Fielding Lewis' death in 1781, a probate inventory was taken, listing the contents of the main dwelling and several of its outbuildings. This document provides a guideline for the types and arrangement of furnishings in the house. For the passage, the inventory listed nine Windsor chairs and a glass lamp. The chairs were probably lined against the wall for visitors to use while waiting to see the Lewises. These chairs could have been moved to any of the rooms for extra seating or to the garden for outdoor use.

A typical floor covering of the 18th century was a floor cloth made from a piece of canvas with numerous coats of paint. When it was worn, the cloth was repainted. Both durable and washable, floor cloths were often placed in passages or under dining room tables — areas that needed frequent cleaning.